Applications are now open for the 2027 Scottish Garden Design Competition at Scone Palace, offering amateur gardeners, horticultural students, professional designers, and landscapers the opportunity to showcase their creativity and gardening skills.
Returning as part of the Scone Palace Garden Fair, which takes place from 28th–30th May 2027, the competition celebrates Scotland’s garden design talent through two categories: Small Space Gardens and Showcase Gardens, each offering a different challenge and the opportunity to bring an original garden design to life.
The competition has grown since its launch with the introduction of the larger Showcase Gardens category in 2025, providing an additional platform for professional designers and landscapers. Both categories are now inviting applications for next year’s event, celebrating the creativity and horticultural expertise found across Scotland’s gardening community.
Small Spaces, Big Ideas
The Small Space Gardens category welcomes entries from gardeners of all abilities, including enthusiastic amateurs, gardening societies, community groups, charities, horticultural students, and new designers. Entrants are invited to interpret the 2027 theme of ‘Joy’ in their garden design, choosing between two plot sizes, measuring 2.4m by 2.4m or 1.2m by 4.8m. The compact dimensions encourage imaginative use of space while demonstrating ideas that visitors might adapt for their own gardens.
Ten finalists will have the opportunity to create their designs at Scone Palace, with an expert judging panel assessing their built gardens and visitors to the event also invited to vote for their favourite in the People’s Choice Award.
Applications for Small Space Gardens close at noon on Friday 8th January 2027. An online information evening will take place on Wednesday 28th October, from 7–8pm, for anyone interested in finding out more about entering.
Showcase Gardens: Designing for All Seasons
The Showcase Gardens category presents a different horticultural challenge, inviting professional garden designers and landscapers to create larger, more ambitious gardens that will be enjoyed and judged over a full year. Three finalists will each create a garden measuring 7m by 7m within the grounds of the Walled Garden at Scone Palace. Unlike traditional show gardens, which are generally judged at their peak during an event, these gardens must continue to perform through changing seasons and Scottish weather conditions.
The gardens will remain on display for 12 months, with expert judging taking place throughout the year. This places particular importance on thoughtful plant selection, year-round structure, and designs that can develop successfully over time. Visitors to the 2027 Garden Fair will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite Showcase Garden in the People’s Choice Award, with the winner announced on Sunday 30th May. The overall winner of the Best Showcase Garden Award, determined by the expert judging panel, will be announced at the 2028 Scone Palace Garden Fair.
Designers are encouraged to create gardens with strong individual identities, combining imaginative design with horticultural expertise. There is no prescribed theme for the Showcase Gardens category, allowing entrants to develop their own ideas and the stories behind them. The category offers valuable exposure for designers, with their work seen by visitors to Scone Palace throughout the year, rather than just during the Garden Fair.
Applications for Showcase Gardens close at 9pm on 16th November 2026.
Could Your Design Be On Display at Scone Palace next year?
Whether creating a colourful garden within a few square metres or designing a larger landscape that will develop throughout the seasons, the Scottish Garden Design Competition provides an opportunity to share ideas, demonstrate horticultural knowledge and design, and inspire other gardeners. It is an opportunity to celebrate the talent, innovation, and enthusiasm that continue to shape Scottish gardening.
Applications are now open for both categories, with full entry requirements and application packs available through the Scone Palace website.